The world was outraged when a 14-year-old girl in Pakistan was shot in the head last week simply for being an ardent advocate for the right of girls to an education. Unfortunately, Malala's case is not an isolated one. In most parts of the world today, individuals and organizations working to advance social, political, and environmental justice face imminent danger as a result of their work. In the past two months alone, a 70-year-old activist in Cambodia was sentenced to 20 years in prison because he challenged the government's policy of confiscating local land for powerful corporate interests; in southern India, police used live ammunition on villagers protesting against a proposed nuclear power plant; a human rights lawyer opposing the creation of special economic development zones was shot dead in Honduras; and in the United Arab Emirates, an outspoken critic of inhumane treatment of political prisoners was assaulted in the street twice and faced government surveillance.

Around the globe, mounting evidence indicates that the international community is failing in its responsibility to ensure the conditions necessary for civil society activists to conduct their work freely, without fear of retaliation from the government or other actors. These conditions include the basic freedoms of expression, association, and assembly, which are enshrined in international human rights covenants and the constitutions of almost every country.

The current proliferation of restrictive laws, regressive public policies, and incidents of active persecution of human rights defenders is a matter of deep and abiding concern for humanity. Indeed, the recent trend of attacks against nongovernmental organizations, trade union activists, investigative journalists, bloggers, and concerned citizens - highlighted by CIVICUS in its State of Civil Society Report 2011 - has ramped up further in 2012.

Since the beginning of the year, civil society activists have been imprisoned through sham trials in Bahrain, Ethiopia, Russia, and Vietnam. They have been murdered in Bangladesh, Honduras, the Philippines, and Syria. Protesters and government critics have been physically attacked or tortured in Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe.

In Colombia, Egypt, and Uganda, governments appear to be tacitly encouraging such hostility, as religious fundamentalists, organized crime groups, and militias attack women's rights activists, gay rights advocates, and anticorruption and land rights campaigners. In places such as Iran, Rwanda, and Turkmenistan, the independent civil society sector has been forced into exile. Sadly, these are just a few illustrative examples of the highly disabling environment for civil society.

As hard-won civil liberties are being rapidly eroded worldwide, civil society is increasingly looking to democratic governments not just for solidarity, but to champion a reversal of the global assault on peaceful dissent. For the next U.S. administration, the current situation presents a critical opportunity to demonstrate America's commitment to human rights protection and democracy promotion, both of which are key pillars of U.S. foreign policy. The following are some recommendations from civil society to the incoming administration.

First, the gains made under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society should continue to be consolidated, including through: (i) U.S. support for the UN resolution on freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and for the UN special rapporteur on those issues; (ii) support for a component acknowledging the role of an enabling environment for civil society within the global compact on aid and development effectiveness that was agreed to in South Korea at the end of 2011; (iii) strengthening of a fund to provide emergency support to civil society organizations under threat; and (iv) public pronouncements and diplomatic support for civil society, including through the Community of Democracies Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society.

Second, the U.S. government should take the lead in law and policy reform by initiating an inclusive global dialogue on balancing the protection of fundamental human rights with national security considerations. The invocations of counterterrorism and national security priorities by the United States and other established democracies since 2001 have not only led to human rights infringements in those countries, but have also been cleverly repurposed by authoritarian governments to suppress domestic political opponents and civil society groups.

Third, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent rights abuses by the corporate sector through a focus on policies and regulations that advance the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights. In many of the countries where civil society is under severe threat, vested corporate interests have managed to co-opt political leaders and state institutions to advance agendas that go against the public interest. Civil society groups that work to expose the nexus between unscrupulous businesses and corrupt government officials remain at high risk.

Fourth, the U.S. government can play a crucial role in encouraging emerging political and economic powers to champion human rights and civil society as a cornerstone of their diplomatic and development relationships with other countries. The United States has much experience to offer in this regard.

Lastly and significantly, the next U.S. administration should end the practice of selectively censuring regimes that violate human rights standards. Many commendable efforts by the U.S. government in certain countries are undermined when human rights abuses by strategic partners in other states are overlooked. President John F. Kennedy dreamed of peace not only for Americans but for all men and women around the globe. Thousands of civil society activists in the far corners of the world are pursuing that same dream, often in highly disabling and dangerous situations. It is only fitting that they have the support of the American people.

*Mandeep Tiwana and Netsanet Belay work at CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, a global movement dedicated to strengthening civil society and citizen action around the world. CIVICUS is headquartered in Johannesburg and has members and partners in over a hundred countries.

Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens' freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.

Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party's policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime's political and economic interests.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.

Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

2016 is a highly significant year for Cambodian democracy. Looking back, 2016 marks 25 years since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Agreements (the “Paris Agreements”), which brought an end to 20 years of conflict in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and laid the framework for a political settlement based on human rights and liberal democracy; looking forward, 2016 marks the unofficial start of the lead‐up to the local and national elections in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as political actors across the spectrum begin to position themselves.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

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